The present invention relates to a video camera combined with a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder). More particularly, it relates to a video camera combined with a VCR which has excellent operationablity and stability in imaging.
Dimensions of the video camera combined with a VCR are important factors to determine its shape as will be described by referring to FIGS. 7 and 8.
FIG. 7 is a plan view for the video camera combined with a VCR with an operator using it. FIG. 8 is a side view of the video camera combined with VCR and the operator of FIG. 7 as seen from arrow X. Dimension A in FIG. 7 is a horizontal projection distance of a viewfinder 5 for an eye of the operator. The best distance A is usually 40 to 110 mm. Dimension C is a distance from a shoulder of the operator to the viewfinder 5. Its usual best distance C is around 145 mm. Dimension D is a distance from a center of the shoulder of the operator to a grip. The desirable distance D is not shorter than 250 mm. Dimension B is a height of a main body of the video camera combined with VCR 1. The preferable dimension B is as small as possible. These data were obtained on the basis of human engineering by measuring sizes of human bodies and using various mock-ups of the video camera combined with a VCR.
Best sizes of the video camera combined with a VCR can be summarized as follows. It should ideally be made deeper and as short a height as possible and have the viewfinder in the best position. The dimensions should meet the following conditions. EQU D.apprxeq.2C (1) EQU B&lt;C (2)
For consideration of conventional video cameras combined with a VCR, refer to FIG. 9 which is a side view of a model of the conventional video cameras combined with a VCR. Its main body has a camera unit 2 and a VCR unit 3 combined. The camera unit 2 has a grip 6 provided on a side thereof. The VCR unit 3 has a demountable battery 4 provided on a rear side thereof. The VCR unit 3 also has a handle 21, a viewfinder 5, and a microphone 7 provide on a top thereof. The viewfinder 5 and the microphone 7 are integrated together. Dimensions of the conventional video camera combined with VCR are given as follows. EQU D.apprxeq.1.5C (3) EQU B&lt;C (4)
The conventional apparatus does not have a desirable shape. The following describes some causes of such a failure by referring to FIG. 10.
FIG. 10 is a sectional side view illustrating the inside of the a VCR unit 3 of the video camera combined with VCR shown in FIG. 9, more particularly illustrating a magnetic tape traveling mechanism of the VCR unit 3. A reel hub for a tape cassette 8 is mounted on a supply reel base 9 and a take-up reel base 10. A magnetic tape 12 is pulled out from a supply reel base 9 through a rotatable roller 13, passes a full-width erasing head 14, an impedance roller 15, and a guide roller 16, and is wound about 190 degrees on a cylinder assembly 11. It then passes an audio head 18 and is forced to move further by a capstan 20 and a pinch roller 19. It finally is wound on the take-up reel base 10. This mechanism is for the VCR of so-called helical scanning type. The usual VCR has to wind the magnetic tape 12 obliqely on the cylinder assembly 11 to increase recording density in recording and reproduction. It therefore must make a tape loading so that the magnetic tape 12 is wound on the cylinder assembly 11 as pulled out of the tape cassette 8.
In the conventional technique, as shown in FIG. 10, the cylinder assembly 11 is ordinarily positioned to be perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the tape cassette 8. The mechanism of the VCR therefore must be likely square, or 1:1 in the aspect ratio, as seen from a side view. Consequently, the conventional video camera combined with VCR has to take a shape given in Eqs. (3) and (4). This frequently proves to be a great inconvenience in developing the ideal video camera combined with a VCR.
As described above, the previous video cameras combined with a VCR could not have the idea external shape for mounting on the shoulder of the operator in view of the human engineering. Reduction in size was also limited since the cylinder had to be positioned perpendicular to the tape cassette. As such, efforts have been made toward developing a tape traveling mechanism to minimize the size of the video camera combined with a VCR.
The Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-106585 disclosed a video camera combined with a VCR in which a cylinder is positioned in a roughly longitudinal direction of a tape cassette to make it small. The video camera combined with a VCR described in this prior application has a camera unit and a VCR unit arranged together for use with an 8 mm size VCR cassette in a compact style. However, it cannot be stably place on the operator's shoulder in imaging.